Experts fear Houthis could close Suez Canal after they enter Iran war with missile

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels have entered the conflict in the Middle East and launched a missile attack on Israel.

The terror group’s strike raises the prospects of a broader regional confrontation, as well as an increased threat to shipping in the region.

The group said the attack with a barrage of missiles came after continued targeting of infrastructure in Iran, Lebanon, Iraq and the Palestinian territories, adding that their operations would continue until the ‘aggression’ on all fronts ends.

On Friday, Brig Gen Saree, a military spokesman for the Houthis, said the rebels could join the war on behalf of Iran if attacks on the country did not cease.

‘We affirm that our fingers are on the trigger for direct military intervention in any of the following cases,’ Saree said. They included the ‘continuation of the escalation against the Islamic Republic and the Axis of Jihad and Resistance, as dictated by the theatre of military operations.’

The group has now said it will remain in the conflict until all its goals are met.

There are fears that the move could see wider attacks on shipping in the region and even the closure of the Red Sea, in addition to Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

The Houthis previously launched strikes against vessels in the Red Sea during the height of Israel’s war in Gaza.

The Israeli military says it has detected missiles fired from Iran towards Israel.

In a statement release in the last few minutes, the IDF said: ‘A short while ago, the IDF identified missiles launched from Iran toward the territory of the State of Israel.

‘Defensive systems are operating to intercept the threat.’

It added alerts had been issued to residents in affected areas, warning them to take shelter.

The UK and countries around the world should be involved in plans to prevent Iran from setting up a ‘toll’ system in the Strait of Hormuz, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said.

Speaking on Friday on the ongoing military operation, Rubio said: ‘Obviously, we have some work to do. We have to finish the job, and we are finishing that job.

‘I did describe to our allies, however, that immediately after this thing ends and we’re done with our objectives, one of the immediate challenges we’re going to face is an Iran that may decide that they want to set up a tolling system in the Strait of Hormuz.

‘Not only is this illegal, it’s unacceptable. It’s dangerous to the world, and it’s important that the world have a plan to confront it.’

He added: ‘The United States is prepared to be a part of that plan. We don’t have to lead that plan, but we – we’re happy to be a part of it.’

Rubio said that countries from ‘all over the world’ should be involved in efforts to keep the strait open. He continued:

There’s a lot of work happening right now.

The UK has played a prominent role in bringing that together, but other countries as well, and there seemed to be a lot of acceptance of all that.

Iran’s military said on Saturday it had targeted a Ukrainian anti-drone system depot in the United Arab Emirates which it said was used to assist US forces.

‘As the hideouts of American commanders and soldiers in Dubai were targeted… a Ukrainian anti-drone system depot that was located in Dubai to assist the US military … was targeted and destroyed,’ Iran’s military central operational command Khatam Al-Anbiya said in a statement carried by state TV.

Earlier today, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made an unannounced trip to the region.

Visiting the UAE, Zelensky said that the two countries had agreed to cooperate on defence.

He said on social media he had met with Emirati President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and that the two leaders ‘agreed to cooperate in the field of security and defense’.

‘For all normal states, it is important to ensure stability and protect lives amid today’s threats. Ukraine has relevant expertise in this area,’ he added.

The Israeli military has said in the last few minutes that it has completed a fresh wave of strikes in Iran.

In a brief statement on Telegram, the IDF said its forces had targeted ‘infrastructure sites of the Iranian terror regime across Tehran’.

It comes after the military used 50 aircraft to attack three locations overnight, targeting weapons production, explosives development and missile construction.

Small petrol stations are being forced to close their pumps rather than charge £2 per litre as supermarkets warn of ‘tight’ supplies amid the war in Iran.

As the conflict between Tehran and the US and Israel entered its second month on Saturday, consumers and businesses are feeling the pinch of spiralling fuel prices.

Queues continue to mass at petrol stations across Britain with short-term supply issues in some areas since Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz, which typically sees 20 per cent of the world’s oil supply pass through it each year.

This week some small petrol station owners shut up shop rather than be forced to charge customers up to £2 per litre for fuel. And at leading supermarkets, some pumps were closed as supplies simply ran out.

Forecourt bosses say they have been accused of ‘profiteering’ from the crisis – which the industry has firmly denied – by the government and are facing abuse from angry customers.

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The USS Gerald R. Ford, the world’s largest aircraft carrier that has been part of Middle East war operations, arrived at the Croatian city of Split on Saturday, the US embassy said in a statement.

The vessel arrived on Saturday morning, with the embassy saying it was part of a ‘scheduled port visit and maintenance’.

The carrier left a naval base in Crete earlier this week after returning to the base following a laundry fire onboard, which injured two crew members.

‘During its visit the USS Gerald R Ford will host local officials and key leaders to recognise the strong and enduring alliance between the United States and Croatia,’ the embassy statement said.

The Ford is the largest war ship ever built and has been at sea for nearly nine months – a deployment that has already seen it take part in US operations in the Caribbean, where Washington’s forces have carried out strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats, interdicted sanctioned tankers and seized Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.

Iran’s Foreign Minister has warned Tehran will ‘retaliate strongly’ if the US and Israel target its infrastructure or economic hubs.

In a post on X this morning, he said:

We have said many times that Iran doesn’t carry out preemptive attacks, but we will retaliate strongly if our infrastructure or economic centers are targeted.

To the countries of the region: If you want development and security, don’t let our enemies run the war from your lands.

It comes after US President Donald Trump extended the deadline for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz by ten days this week.

He had earlier threatened the ‘obliteration’ of Iranian energy infrastructure if the strait was not opened yesterday.

Pakistan is to host talks with Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt from tomorrow to discuss the ongoing Iran conflict.

Shehbaz Sharif’s government has emerged as a key facilitator between Iran and the United States as their war drags on, serving as an intermediary for messages between the two sides.

Top diplomats from Riyadh, Cairo and Ankara are due in Islamabad Sunday and Monday for ‘in-depth discussions on a range of issues, including efforts to de-escalate tensions in the region’, the Pakistan foreign ministry said.

As part of preparations, Sharif said he had a ‘detailed telephone conversation with my brother President Masoud Pezeshkian of Iran earlier today, lasting over one hour’.

‘I reiterated Pakistan’s strong condemnation of the continued Israeli attacks on Iran, including recent strikes on civilian infrastructure, and conveyed Pakistan’s solidarity with the brave people of Iran,’ he wrote on X.

Iranian media said on Saturday that US-Israeli strikes hit multiple residential areas overnight, killing at least a dozen people.

Strikes on residential areas in Borujerd, a city in the western province of Lorestan, killed ‘seven and wounded 36 others,’ Fars news agency quoted provincial official Ghodratollah Valadi as saying.

Similar attacks on the northwestern city of Zanjan on Saturday killed at least five people and wounded seven others, according to ISNA, quoting the city’s political deputy governor Ali Sadeghi.

Iran has yet to provide an updated overall death toll, with the latest tally of over 1,200 released on March 8, according to the health ministry, which could not be independently verified.

Reports suggest that this could now have risen to in excess of 1,900 – but without free and independent media access to Iran, this could not be verified.

The White House has shared a clip which shows the Strait of Hormuz renamed as the Strait of Trump.

The short video, shared on its Arabic account, also shows the US President dancing in apparent celebration after the name change.

It comes after comments made by the President on Friday, in which he discussed the Strait: ‘We’re negotiating now, and it would be great if we could do something, but they have to open it up.

‘They have to open up the Strait of Trump – I mean Hormuz. Excuse me, I’m so sorry. Such a terrible mistake.’